Tools for Healthy Parenting

Moms Tool Chest is a site for new and experienced moms alike who are in search of information (tools) for looking after baby, themselves and the environment.

In today's disposable society it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find environmentally friendly options. There are more and more people reaching for the more convenient (and more wasteful) options. We are living in a society where if its too much hassle, why do it. For some people though, it is just a lack of knowledge that prevents them from making changes in their lives towards better health and a better world. The knowledge that many ingredients in that popular brand of baby wipes could actually be harmful to your child or the knowledge that one babies disposable waste (diapers) for just two years equates to approximately seven thousand disposable nappies are just two examples.

Many people rely on their parents for much of their information on what is best for their baby. After all, they were in their position at least once. Unfortunately our 'elders' advice can be very outdated and therefore flawed. Substances thought to be safe thirty or forty years ago are now considered dangerous either to the environment or to our health. Two great examples of this are DDT and Thalidomide. DDT was said to be safe fifty years ago and television ads even showed children playing in its spray. It is now banned in most western countries. Thalidomide more than 40 years ago was used as an effective morning sickness treatment for women but was soon found to cause birth defects in the children they were carrying. Even today, products still contain potentially harmful ingredients as research is still being undertaken into their effects. So, what is safe? It is hard to know just how safe any substance is. The best advice is to use any questionable substance minimally until further research is completed. This website will report suspicious ingredients or products for their possible harmful nature both to your health and the environment.

Environmentally there are a few things you can do everyday that can make a difference. Always remember Reuse, Refuse, Recycle and Reduce.

Reuse: Reuse items and use second hand items rather than buying new items

Refuse: Refuse plastic bags as shopping bags.

Recycle: Separate your garbage into garbage and recyclable, and recycle what you can (which is a lot these days.

Reduce: Reduce how much you consume as well as being selective about the amount of packaging on items you buy.

Here are some basic examples. When shopping, try to buy items with as little plastic packaging as possible, buy goods that can be recycled. Use environmentally friendly shopping bags, therefore reducing plastic disposable bag use. If you end up using plastic bags reuse them as a lining for your bins at home. If you need to buy anything for you or the baby, ebay is an excellent place to shop. With ebay, garage sales, or paper listings, you can often get high quality goods, often new, at a fraction of the price.

The following are some questions you may want answers to.

In the past most families raised their children with an awareness of spirituality -whatever that meant to the parents - but nowadays family life is often divorced from spirituality. Children fail to connect to their own spirituality. How do we raise compassionate and spiritually aware children? Check out family buddhism.

This site will be updated on a regular basis with the answers to these questions and more.